One of our main goals was to learn and share with a wide professional audience international good practices related to the dignified accommodation of homeless people who living rough and suffer from mental illnesses and/or addictions. We wanted to deepen our knowledge about programs aimed at developing the skills of homeless people, the practice of peer support and all innovative approaches and practices that can enrich the toolbox of our colleagues doing professional work. Through the conferences, we wanted to strengthen our international relations and represent our country and our organization more prominently among European homeless-care organizations. In the social sphere, including BMSZKI, we experience increasing fluctuations in recent years, and the number of benefits that can be used to reward employees stagnate, but the burdens of our colleagues are constantly growing. Mobility programs are also important because they greatly contribute to maintaining the motivation of our colleagues and serve as recognition for their work. Participation in Erasmus+ programs has now become part of the institutional culture.
BMSZKI has been implementing international mobility programs for 17 years - in a unique way in the homeless-care sector. As a methodological institution, BMSZKI places particular emphasis on the training of its staff and on learning and adapting international practices. In addition to getting to know innovative practices, international study visits and conference visits also help to be a motivational tool for retaining employees and continuously improving their knowledge in organizations struggling with a lack of resources. Study trips have many positive effects: our colleagues are enriched with new perspectives, impulses, and ideas, their language and presentation skills improve, new friendships are made. Through our project, we wanted to learn more about the innovative programs that support homeless people, mainly rough sleepers, so that we can adapt our services to the needs of this particularly vulnerable target group and provide them services that are even more inclusive than we provide at the moment. During the conference visits, our goal was to learn about the latest trends and strengthen our existing relationships and building new ones.